There's a few similar questions about this. See if this answer helps. It's not a direct duplicate but it's similar.
– fsbNov 1 '16 at 16:46

Thanks. Unfortunately the menu path described there (Settings > Carrier) doesn't even seem to exist anymore. If you read his update, he says even that appears not to have fixed his problem. Does lead me to believe this is a carrier issue, though.
– StewNov 1 '16 at 16:57

12 Answers
12

ETA: Go to ivzwentp.tracfone.com and install the configuration profile. This fixed the problem for me. (That's what the text I got last week instructed me to do. I was able to find a copy of that text online, at a different site.)

Same problem here, also on PagePlus. I've tried to chat with PagePlus customer service but have been unable to get through. I did get a weird text message last week about iPhone data issues on PagePlus - maybe that was related? I thought it was spam so I deleted it...

Yeah, I just got a message from them with the same link. It feels really shady though--they want you to install a cellular configuration "Profile" (I had never heard of this--I'm not well versed in cellular networking stuffs)--but iOS says the profile PP linked to is unsigned, which feels really questionable. Not sure how much of a security risk it is to install something like this. And yet, it did get LTE working...
– StewNov 1 '16 at 21:57

I get new profiles from AT&T after almost every major iOS release so the 'process' of installing a new profile is ok. I can't speak to the validity of the link you received, only you can do that.
– fsbNov 1 '16 at 22:44

Do the AT&T profiles you install say "Not Signed" in red text? This one does. That's the part I'm more worried about. If it's not signed, I am much less confident that it isn't malicious, and apparently from reading up, configuration profiles can give third parties a lot of control over your phone.
– StewNov 1 '16 at 22:55

1

Yeah, it's not signed and it's over a non-secure http channel. This caused me not to use it for a while until I was desperate and just did it. I figured I could wipe my phone if there was an issue. But it fixed the cellular non-data issue. I have the same URL as was posted here.
– Micah B.Mar 8 '17 at 20:02

I have finally got this working. As noted above, my problem initially was the opposite of the OP. I wanted to remove the cellular data (APN profile) when I travel, then restore it when I go back to the US.

There are two parts to the solution, each covered elsewhere in more detail. Here is how I put them together.

If Tracfone/Verizon has pushed a profile onto your phone with iOS 11, it will be hidden and cannot be removed. You have to backup and then edit your backup with iBackupBot. (This is described elsewhere.) The simplest edit (and the only one that worked for me) is simply to remove the profile file.
"mobile/com.apple.managedCarrier.plist"
Then still using iBackupBot, you do a full restore including reboot. The result is a restore with all your data, etc. intact, but no profile installed. After I did this, my foreign SIM worked fine with cellular data.

Although I am not back in the US, I did go to the iphone.flexserve.net site where, as Aaron suggested above, I installed "Straight Talk (tracfone.vzwe...)" as my profile. Of course, my French cellular data immediately stopped working. However, in Settings, General, I now see the Profile and this one can be removed. I did that and Bingo, French cellular data is restored.

Unfortunately, this is a solution for techies. The good news is that you only need to do the backup, delete profile from backup, and restore once. After that, you have an easy way to delete the profile and then reinstall it.

I think it will be important to install the profile immediately on returning to the US, before Tracfone/Verizon pushes out another hidden profile. Then refuse all proposed carrier settings updates.

Also, who knows if this will keep working when there is another iOS update.

For what it's worth, below is the email I got back from PagePlus technical support. Installing the configuration profile worked for me, but CAUTION, iOS says that the linked configuration profile is unsigned which means that we can't be confident that this is the exact file PagePlus intended us to download. Theoretically, a malicious hacker could swap it out with their own file, and do bad things to our phone once we install it. So proceed at your own risk!

Hi [redacted].

Thank you for your e-mail.

This is a response to the Ticket#[redacted].

We do apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced.

Checking the account [redacted], we have verified that your phone is
provisioned correctly in our billing system. You are still good with
the $55 plan until tonight at midnight. You already have a reserved
balance that will automatically renew the account after the current
$55 plan expires. You will need to update your data connection again
by following the steps below.

1) Place your phone on airplane mode for about 10 to 15 seconds. 2)
Disable the airplane mode and restart your phone. 3) Once your phone
is on, wait until it will displays atleast 3 or more signal bars. 4)
Make sure that your WiFi connectivity is off and Mobile data is on.
5) Try to access some of your phone online applications to check if
its working.

? If not, we need to install a PROFILE in your phone to have your data
service activated.

1) Before we install a Profile, we need to check your device, to make
sure that there is no Profile on it. 2) Please go to SETTINGS, click
GENERAL ( usually when you click GENERAL, you will notice PROFILE but
if there's no profile that's fine. If there is we need to delete
that.)

? To install a PROFILE you must disable your Mobile data.

1) Then kindly enable your WiFi, and make sure that you are properly
connected. 2) Open your SAFARI browser then, open this link
ivzwentp.tracfone.com (must be in lowercase), 3) Click install
PROFILE then select INSTALL. Please take note: Some iPhone cannot
recognize the link provided. But don't worry it is safe, so please
continue to install. 4) Once it was installed successfully. Please
disable your WiFi connectivity and enable your mobile data. 5) Make
sure that LTE is showing at the top of your phone screen. Try to
access some of your phone online application to check if everything is
working good.

NOTE: Before doing those steps, make sure that you have atleast 50% of
battery and good signal bars. If this troubleshooting steps will not
work on your phone, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-550-2436
for further assistance.

Please contact us if you have any further questions or concerns. You
can reach us by dialing #737 (#REP) or #22273 (#CCARE) from your
cellular phone. You can call 1-800-550-2436 from any other phone. You
are also able to engage in Live Chat on our website at
www.pagepluscellular.com. All methods are available Monday through
Sunday from 8 AM ? 11:45 PM (all times Eastern Standard).

After weeks of my tracfone not working, I finally found an answer with tracfone customer service. Go to iphone.flexserve.net. Select APN & Proxy Changer, Enter your country, then for operator, select "Straight Talk (tracfone.vzwe...)", then click "Generate Profile" and install the profile. Turn your phone off and then back on. If that doesn't work, try Verizon (4G LTE) as the operator.

I wanted to add that I use Tracfone (over Verizon network), not Straight Talk, but this solution worked perfectly for me on an iPhone SE that a month or so ago had started having the problem: “Could not activate cellular data network”

Now I have the exact opposite problem. I am in France and need to remove the Tracfone/Verizon APN settings in order to get cellular data from my provider here. Since iOS 10, the APN profile is hidden. I have found no way to remove it except with a Reinitialize to factory settings. You cannot then restore from an iTunes backup because it will just restore the problem APN. Reset network settings doesn't help.
– RandySeaApr 8 '18 at 6:38

I have had this same issue on my iPhone SE. I use tracfone and I bought a 200 minutes card yesterday. It added the minutes and data and texts into my account but then my phone could not use data. I had plenty of bars of signal and it showed Verizon LTE (I have the cdma tracfone card). I had to call tracfone several times before someone there could help me but it is resolved now. They had to update something and the rep asked me the MEID number and IMEI number from my phone plus my sim number. It took about 30 minutes once I reached a person who knew how to fix this. Also this has happened to me a couple times before. I love having affordable service on an iPhone so I will continue to deal with this inconvenience. Also I do NOT believe this is an issue with the gsm sims but the CDMA has much better signal strength where I live.

This is what worked for me, which is a bit different than what's already posted:
I did a full DFU mode restore to the latest firmware, set up the phone, factory resetted it (settings > general > reset > 2nd option from the top), set up the phone again, did a Cellular Data toggle first off then on (settings > cellular > cellular data OFF/ON), and finally the web started working. There was no need for any additional profile download, and it worked perfectly with both Verizon and PagePlus sim cards... your mileage may vary.

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– Monomeeth♦Mar 21 '17 at 23:43